Navy's third MUOS satellite begins its final testing preparation at Lockheed Martin
NewsJuly 11, 2014
SUNNYVALE, Calif.. Lockheed Martin engineers finished environmental testing of the U.S. Navy’s third Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) satellite. Trials cleared included thermal vacuum, which validated performance in simulated space conditions. The satellite is now in final check out.
The Navy plans to launch this MUOS satellite the beginning of next year.
The MUOS satellite was stressed by the Lockheed Martin test team at extreme hot and cold temperatures in a vacuum at company’s Dual Entry Large Thermal Altitude chamber, simulating the environments the satellite will experience during its operational life.
The satellites have a wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) payload that uses commercial cell phone technology. MUOS provides about a 10-fold increase in communications capacity compared to the current legacy Ultra High Frequency (UHF) system. The WCDMA payload also gives users the advantage of high-speed data and priority access that older systems did not.
Lockheed Martin Space Systems, in Sunnyvale, California, is the MUOS prime contractor as well as the system integrator of the five-satellite constellation, which has four operational assets and one on-orbit spare. The Navy's Program Executive Office for Space Systems and its Communications Satellite Program Office in San Diego are responsible for the MUOS program.
